3 Trees -- Okay, dying, dead?

[josephny]

I have 3 maple trees that look to me like they are struggling.

3 years ago we landscaped and dug massive trenches and raised the soil height, etc. and I think that might have caused the trouble.

I've attached pictures of the trees and sure would appreciate it if someone who knows more than me (which is most likely everyone reading this) would tell me what they think of the tree's health and what I can do to save these trees.

Thank you very much!

Joseph

 

[johnnyballs]

I have 3 maple trees that look to me like they are struggling.

3 years ago we landscaped and dug massive trenches and raised the soil height, etc. and I think that might have caused the trouble.

I've attached pictures of the trees and sure would appreciate it if someone who knows more than me (which is most likely everyone reading this) would tell me what they think of the tree's health and what I can do to save these trees.

Thank you very much!

Joseph

i live in erie county...about 20 miles east of buffalo and sugar maples around here are declining very rapidly for some reason....
are your trees sugar maples ???

 

[buzz sawyer]

Can we get some photos of the bottoms of the trunks and surrounding ground? Can you elaborate on the trenches and raising the soil height?

 

[old CB]

Were those trees full of tent caterpillars last year or the year before? Way upstate from you the last two yrs were bad for caterpillars, and they were terrible in sugar maples. If that's what caused the damage, the trees will likely come back in some form, slowly.

However, any number of things could cause what you're showing, so hard to say for sure.

 

[josephny]

I don't know what kind of maples they are but we did tap and make lots of syrup last year (not this year).

Not tenting caterpillars in quite a few year (like 15).

Attached are pictures of the bottoms.

 

[buzz sawyer]

I'm not seeing a root flair on some. Was soil mounded up close to the trunk? Assuming they survive, rather than grass, you would be better to have a generous mulch ring around the trees - 3' - 4' out from the trunk.

 

[josephny]

Yes, soil level adjacent to the trees was raised. I think that explains the lack of root flair.

I can do a mulch ring if that would help.

I'm worried that something more drastic needs to be done (or that nothing can be done to save them). Would pruning off some of the apparently dead limbs help?

 

[buzz sawyer]

3 years is about how long it takes for damage to show up. Hopefully an expert will chime in. Typically, they recommend to carefully remove the dirt to expose the root flair and look girdling roots and go from there. Is there a local licensed arborist (not a tree removal company) you can contact for an evaluation?

 

[old CB]

Photos # 1,2, and 3 show no root flair--not a good thing. The following photos all appear to have root flair.

As to pruning off dead growth, that makes no difference whatsoever. Pruning dead growth off a tree is like removing dead skin from your body--it's merely a cosmetic measure at this point, as dead skin or dead branches contribute nothing and cost nothing to the host organism.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

3 years is about how long it takes for damage to show up. Hopefully an expert will chime in. Typically, they recommend to carefully remove the dirt to expose the root flair and look girdling roots and go from there. Is there a local licensed arborist (not a tree removal company) you can contact for an evaluation?

That's exactly what I would do. That's what I did with the large trees in my yard, dug soil/grass away from the bottom of the trees, exposing the root flare, then mulched.

 

[Ikeholt]

Earthwork would cause decline. Fill dirt lowers oxygen level in the soil that the feeder roots need. Trenching caused more damage. Not much remedy at this point. If they were mine, I'd let them hang on for a while and plant some new ones nearby.

 

[josephny]

So gently dig out the dirt (which I did around one of the trees) to expose the root flair and then refill completely (even overfill) with mulch?

Yea, lots of deep trenches for water, electric, propane lines. We tried to stay clear of the trees, but....

I was hoping pruning won't help, but now I know that it doesn't.

Anything else at all we can do?

Thank you all!

 

[buzz sawyer]

Pic please. Don't cover the root flair. We need to see how deep the dirt is that covers the root area.
How close to the trees were the trenches made? How many trenches?

 

[josephny]

Pic please. Don't cover the root flair. We need to see how deep the dirt is that covers the root area.
How close to the trees were the trenches made? How many trenches?

Attached are close up pics of the root flair on tree A.

The dirt extended about 6" above the top of the root flair. I uncovered the root flair last year (when I first heard that it shouldn't be covered). But I wonder if the diameter of the area that I uncovered (and possibly the depth or how much soil I removed) wasn't enough.

Some of the trenches were within 6' of the trees (on one side -- not all around).

Thanks!

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Attached are close up pics of the root flair on tree A.

The dirt extended about 6" above the top of the root flair. I uncovered the root flair last year (when I first heard that it shouldn't be covered). But I wonder if the diameter of the area that I uncovered (and possibly the depth or how much soil I removed) wasn't enough.

Some of the trenches were within 6' of the trees (on one side -- not all around).

Thanks!

When I first saw your photos, something about the slight bulge above a more slender area in the trunk made me think of root girdling. Your new pictures appear to confirm that.
I think the experts might suggest excavating more soil to see exactly what's there?

 

[BC WetCoast]

If the trenches were within 6' of the trunk, you effectively cut about 40% of the root mass. Not a shock, they are showing signs of stress.
My suggestions eould be to
- remove soil to the root flair or slightly below
- install a mulch bed around the tree, the bigger the better. Dont use landscape fabric
- establish a watering plan for the summer dry season. A deep watering every 2 weeks, soaker hose for a few hours. Increase the frequency during the really hot periods.
- I live in an area with coarse soils, and we get a lot of nutrient leaching, so im a fan of fertilizing. This may not apply to you, but if you do fertilize you want one with more phosphorous (the second number eg 31-10-5, as it stimulates root production. You can also supplement with bone meal, again to stimulate.root growth
Pruning wont modify the health of the tree, but will increase the safety (falling branches) and improve the aesthetic.
Start saving your pennies, cause theres no guarantee you wont be removing then within the next couple of years.

 

[josephny]

If the trenches were within 6' of the trunk, you effectively cut about 40% of the root mass. Not a shock, they are showing signs of stress.
My suggestions eould be to
- remove soil to the root flair or slightly below
- install a mulch bed around the tree, the bigger the better. Dont use landscape fabric
- establish a watering plan for the summer dry season. A deep watering every 2 weeks, soaker hose for a few hours. Increase the frequency during the really hot periods.
- I live in an area with coarse soils, and we get a lot of nutrient leaching, so im a fan of fertilizing. This may not apply to you, but if you do fertilize you want one with more phosphorous (the second number eg 31-10-5, as it stimulates root production. You can also supplement with bone meal, again to stimulate.root growth
Pruning wont modify the health of the tree, but will increase the safety (falling branches) and improve the aesthetic.
Start saving your pennies, cause theres no guarantee you wont be removing then within the next couple of years.

Thank you very much for the analysis and suggestions.

What kind of mulch is best?

I am in the Catskill mountains of NY, and we get plenty of rain. The problem is that the soil is 40% clay, 40% rock, 5% sand and 5% organic material (I'm making this up, but it's probably not too far off -- very heavy clay and rock soil; extremely poor drainage).

 

[josephny]

I was trying to educate myself on root flair and root girdling and came across this basic explanation and step-by-step.

Is this what I should try to achieve?

https://spottsgardens.com/tree-girdling-roots/

Thank you

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I was trying to educate myself on root flair and root girdling and came across this basic explanation and step-by-step.

Is this what I should try to achieve?

https://spottsgardens.com/tree-girdling-roots/

Thank you

Looks to me like good info.

 

[josephny]

Here's what I've uncovered (literally) for tree A.

Sure could use some expert analysis on what we see.